Nothing Else Matters
by BlueWolf1923
Summary: A collection of fluffy IchiRuki oneshots. Chapter Six: Fujihime: "your eyes change color… Whenever you're happy, they're purple, like now."
1. Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors

Summary: Ichigo accidentally sees Rukia coming out of the shower. Needless to say, she's not happy about that.

A/N: not really sure where this came from, but it's very slightly AU. In the anime (I could never find the manga at any library) Rukia comes back to Karakura with her powers during the Bount Arc, but for the purposes of this story, she lives with the Kurosakis prior to that.

Disclaimer: this is the only time I'll say it. I don't own Bleach, and if I did, we would have had canon IchiRuki by now.

X

Ichigo woke, groaning at the sunlight which hit him in the face. He had been in a fight with several Hollows last night, and one had landed a lucky shot to his head. It hadn't lived long enough to celebrate, but Ichigo still had a pounding headache, intensified by the sunlight. "what gods have I pissed off," he muttered angrily, "to have to wake up like this?"

Simply to escape the blinding light, he rolled out of his bed, landing in a heap of blankets, then crawled to his feet. It was Saturday, and it was summer anyway, so he didn't have to worry about school, but there were still plenty of Hollows lurking around Karakura Town, plenty of reason to throw open the door to his closet and take out his frustrations by rudely waking an innocent Rukia.

She wasn't there.

_Oh, shit, what time is it? _he went over to his alarm clock, which would remain silent until September, and picked it up. It was only nine a.m.

He grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the shower, as he did every morning, but today, something was telling him not to. It wasn't Zangetsu, and it certainly wasn't Hichigo, but it was there. _Bad idea, Ichigo…_

He listened. No water was running. He knocked, no answer. He opened the door.

"GAH! You idiot, get out of here!"

Rukia was standing there, naked and with a towel on her head. She must have been drying her hair with it, and not heard him knocking. As Rukia tried to cover herself with her arms and the towel, Ichigo yelped and turned around, but it was too late for two reasons. One, he had just seen Rukia naked. And two…

"Bakudo Number One, Sai!"

Ichigo crumpled, his arms were pulled behind his back, and his face hit the floor rather painfully. Rukia knew he was capable of breaking this spell, so she took advantage before he could break free, and kicked him in the behind, sending him flying down the hallway. "be grateful I didn't kill you, dumbass!" she went back into the bathroom, and slammed the door.

As Ichigo was knocked out by his head hitting a wall, his thoughts were _Damn it… today just isn't my day. _

Drifting through unconsciousness, he suffered a particularly vivid flashback to the moment he found out Yoruichi was actually a Soul Reaper, and a woman, not a talking cat. With Yoruichi, he had looked away because he didn't particularly want to hold a casual conversation with the naked ex-ninja. But with Rukia, he had only looked away because he genuinely believed he would die if he didn't.

It was already an unpleasant memory, and fell firmly in the category of experiences he would happily have erased from the archives of his mind… and yet…

_I just saw Rukia naked?_

"hey! Baka, wake up!" Rukia slapped him again, and he jumped up. For a brief moment, their faces were only inches apart, then Ichigo cried out and jumped back, smacking the back of his head on the floor. His head swam again, but Rukia smacked him. "don't you pass out again! Now, what the hell did you see?"

"everything…"

He flinched, expecting to be smacked again, but Rukia simply continued, "how long were you standing there?"

"just a second or two."

"and did you knock?"

"yeah, you didn't hear me."

"then knock louder next time!" Rukia stood up, and Ichigo gratefully realized she had put on some clothing before waking him up. Her hair was still dripping wet, so he hadn't been knocked out that long.

"sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, but Rukia kept walking, until she disappeared down the stairs.

After about fifteen minutes, he worked up the courage to go downstairs, and found Rukia at the table, eating cereal. He sat down across from her, and said again, "I'm sorry."

"'sokay. You didn't mean to." she bit down on the spoon again.

"I still did it, so I'm sorry."

Rukia set down the spoon, and blinked, before pinning him with an irritated glare. "I forgive you," she growled.

"you used Kido on me, and kicked me across the house. Now you're growling. Since when do you growl?"

"since you saw me naked."

"you saw her naked?" Isshin came into the room, and was met with a thrown bowl of cereal, courtesy of a seething Rukia. While he wiped the milk out of his eyes, he was unable to see Ichigo's incoming kick.

"okay," Rukia said, slightly more relaxed, "I don't forgive you. But I will if you stop apologizing! Just go get your damn shower."

Ichigo remembered why he had opened the door in the first place, and quickly acquiesced, bolting upstairs at full speed. He stumbled on the top stair, and grabbed his clothes from where he had dropped them, courtesy of Rukia's Kido. He threw them on the bathroom floor, and turned the shower on before quickly stripping and jumping into the shower.

His sigh of relief quickly turned into a scream of pain, as he realized the water bombarding him was boiling hot. He tried to get out of the shower, but stumbled backward over the edge of the tub and crashed down, painfully, on his back.

Rukia, downstairs, heard all of this and ran upstairs without thinking, then hesitated briefly at the bathroom door. _If he actually fell out of the shower, he'll be naked, but hey, he saw me, didn't he?_

She threw open the door, once again unlocked, and saw Ichigo half-conscious, beet-red, and naked on the floor. He groggily covered himself as best he could with the shirt he had intended to wear, while Rukia used a healing Kido on his head.

"an eyeful for an eyeful, huh?"

"I already told you I forgave you. Why do you think I'm fixing you up? Besides, what makes you think I wanted to see you naked?"

"I'm still afraid you're gonna kill me in my sleep tonight."

Rukia admitted, "I'm afraid I'm gonna wake up in front of the Sokyoku tonight. Neither one's gonna happen."

"what, do you get nightmares?" Ichigo grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around himself when Rukia was done healing him.

"sometimes. They usually end with us both burning to death."

"both of us?"

"yeah, you just stand there in front of me and get roasted. Then the phoenix comes for me." Rukia winced at the memories.

"that's dark."

"it's a nightmare, moron. It's supposed to be dark. Now get dressed."

"I haven't had a shower yet."

"then get your shower. Don't make me come in here again, or maybe I _will_ kill you tonight."

Rukia left without another word, and Ichigo groaned as he got up.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. A single Hollow briefly showed up, but it was immediately pummelled by Chad, who had been out for a walk. It was after nightfall that things began to happen.

Ichigo lay stretched out on his bed, at roughly midnight, unable to sleep. He was trying to imagine what it would be like for Rukia, to see him standing there against one of the most powerful Zanpakutou in existence, expecting him to die… expecting herself to die…

Suddenly Rukia's soft snoring stopped, replaced by a rustling of blankets and a moan. "Ichigo…"

_She's dreaming about me? She's got to be having another nightmare… _

"Ichigo, run… leave me…" she moaned again. "please…"

_I can't let her suffer like this. I saved her from the real thing, so how hard could it be to save her from a bad dream?_

Ichigo sat up, and his bed creaked as he stood. He slowly walked across the room, and hesitated at the closet door. "ah, what the hell." he slid it open, and saw Rukia roll over again, a look of pain and horror on her face. What truly shocked him was the wetness around her eyes, she had been crying. "Rukia, it's okay," he whispered. "it's already over, we're safe." she whimpered, and he added, "I'm okay."

Her eyes flew open, and she gasped, backing away from him and curling up in the closet. "oh, shit," she muttered, as Ichigo slowly sat down in front of her.

"you were having a nightmare. I just figured it was wrong to let you suffer like that."

"um… thanks… how much did I say?"

"you told me to run away, and leave you."

"I said that out loud? Uh, did I say anything else?"

"no, but you were crying."

"ah, damn it. But… thanks."

"I thought you said you wouldn't thank me."

"I thought I meant it." she wiped the half-dried tears from her eyes.

"wait, what else did you say in the dream?"

"things I'd rather not repeat."

"you'll probably say 'em again tomorrow night. You should probably just get it over with."

Rukia shuddered under the blankets, at the thought of reliving her execution yet again. "okay. It happens every night… I'm screaming as it burns you alive, and you just stand there, trying to protect us with Zangetsu, and I'm trying everything to get you to leave, so I keep saying that I… I love you." she quickly added, "but it's just a dream, right? Right?"

Ichigo blinked, and remained silent for a few more seconds. "you… love me?"

In the darkness of the closet, Rukia's blushing was all but invisible, but just the same, she felt her cheeks tingling, her face grow hot, and a cold sweat cover her, as she finally replied, "yes." it was little more than a whisper, but it was enough.

She moved forward at the exact moment he did, and they shared their first kiss in the silence and darkness of the closet. The rest of the Kurosaki family was asleep, and oblivious to the display of passion that took place in that perfect moment.

When the two ran out of air, Rukia broke off the kiss, and gasped in a fresh breath to continue. The second kiss was considerably shorter, as Ichigo stopped early and whispered in her ear, "I love you too."

Rukia sighed, and wrapped her arms around him. "what now?"

"I'll stay in here. You need a good night's sleep, and if I stay with you, you won't have to worry about dying. I know this sounds corny, Rukia, but I'll always protect you." he kissed her again. "go to sleep."

She lay down, and he followed suit. She threw an arm over his chest, and whispered, "good night, Strawberry…" after a few minutes, when Ichigo fell asleep next to her, she added, "my sweet Strawberry."

For the rest of her centuries, Rukia Kuchiki was never again tormented by nightmares of her execution.

_X_

A/N: this was really my best shot at keeping Rukia in character. I figure I'm doing better with Ichigo, but I can't seem to get Rukia quite right. I know I liked it, but please, tell me if you like it, or if I messed up. I'm just fine with flames, my only problem is trolls.


	2. Don't Thank Me

A/N: thanks to everyone who read Chap1. I had really only intended to use this to purge plotbunnies from my aimless mind, but "Behind Closed Doors" was surprisingly successful. To those of you who plan to stick around, fear not. There's plenty more where this came from.

Don't Thank Me

Summary: "I would have came to save you, even if you were just a friend, Rukia, but after all that time I spent chasing you, I know now… you're not."

(I tried to write this once before. Chickened out… -_- well, I'm writing it again.)

X

Ichigo sighed, and laid Zangetsu in the grass next to him. He was in front of the Shiba residence, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. First, Renji. "why the hell doesn't she call _him_ Strawberry?" he flashed back to what could have, and by all rights should have, been a completely one-sided ass-beating with Ichigo on the painful end. The son of a bitch had bankai, or almost, and Ichigo actually won. Fair enough, the mask under his kimono had saved him from getting butchered by Zabimaru, so luck factored in enough for the victory to be understandable. But Kenpachi Zaraki… "there shouldn't be enough left of me to bury," Ichigo muttered in retrospect.

Yet, somehow, Ichigo had won… barely. He had beaten the leader of Squad 11 with only a zanpakutou, in shikai state, no less. From there, Yoruichi patched him up, and he went off to save Rukia. Not to mention, he had seen her naked… hm… 'Flash Master' might have more than one meaning…

It was only because of Yoruichi that Ichigo didn't find himself reduced to a mushy red puddle at Rukia's feet, and he was grateful for that.

Ichigo cringed at the memory of Rukia's eyes, her normally crystal-clear purple eyes were darkened with sadness and despair. She had expected to die, and maybe some small part of her wanted to do it, to just get it over with… with just one look, her misery had been poured into him, but he refused to give in. He looked her in the eyes and told her that she had no choice, she was getting rescued whether she liked it or not.

Then, enter Byakuya, who was ready to transform the young Soul Reaper into said mushy puddle, thanks to possibly the most intimidating shikai Ichigo had ever seen. Fortunately, he was spared that fate, and then, he learned bankai in two days.

"how?" he looked down at Zangetsu, wrapped in the white-ribbon sheath as usual, and the spirit of his weapon almost answered, but he didn't have to. Ichigo knew how.

"how, what?" Ichigo jumped to his feet with a yelp.

"Rukia!"

"oh, come on, baka. I wasn't even twenty feet away from you. Don't act so startled."

"you, uh… you look great." Ichigo jumped, and hastily added, "I mean, cuz you were supposed to be dead by now and everything… I mean, you look good anyway… gah! Oh, what's happening to me?"

Rukia cuffed him. "slow down. I've had more intelligent conversation with a monkey."

"what, you mean Renji?" she cuffed him again. "sorry, I mean, he's smart and all, for a monkey…" she punched him, and he flinched to the right, just enough to avoid a broken nose. "stop hitting me!"

"stop calling him a monkey, you monkey!"

"okay, fine. Renji isn't a monkey… jeez, figure I'd get a better thank-you than this."

"what, for saving my life, then throwing me like a javelin? I already said I wouldn't thank you anyway!"

"okay, fine, don't thank me."

"great. So, what were you talking to yourself about?" she crossed her arms, and followed Ichigo downward into a sitting position.

"just how I ended up in this situation."

"okay, so what's bothering you?"

"huh? Nothing, I'm fine."

"Ichigo. I'm the reason you're here, so I know you better than that." Rukia was referring to her making him a Soul Reaper, but Ichigo's thoughts immediately were yanked back what actually was bothering him.

"okay, fine. It's just… ah, screw it. You gotta know, I would have came to save you, even if you were just a friend, Rukia, but after all that time I spent chasing you, I know now… you're not." Rukia's eyes were as wide as he had ever seen them. "you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen… it hurt so much to see them so lifeless. Ah, damn it, I'm getting all sappy on you!" Rukia blinked numbly, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "…oh, God, I suck at all this 'explaining my feelings' stuff. I'll just... show you." he leaned forward, and cradled the back of her neck, gently pulling her into a kiss.

After a few seconds, he pulled away, with both of their hearts pounding. She was gaping at him, and couldn't bring herself to even say his name for almost ten agonizingly long seconds of silence. Then, all that came was a faint "Ichigo…" when she realized she could no longer manage a coherent sentence, she simply lunged forward and kissed him back. Given how horrible his attempt at an explanation had gone, she was in no hurry to try one.

She leaned backward, pulling Ichigo down with her as her back met the soft green grass of Kukaku's lawn. The kiss might well have progressed further if not for a chuckling Ganju Shiba.

Thinking back, Ichigo realized he had heard Ganju's evil laugh, and his footsteps, but he simply didn't care until the larger man kicked him in the gut, bellowing, "if you two aren't going to get a room, at least get off my damn lawn!"

Suddenly kissing air, with blinding sunlight pouring down on her face, Rukia was as livid as Ichigo. While Ichigo clutched his stomach in pain, and Ganju clutched his with laughter, Rukia rose with a scowl, and drew her temporary zanpakutou, which she had been given until Sode no Shirayuki returned to her hand and hip. Ganju yelped and hid behind his approaching sister, who applauded. "I'd hate for you to run through another Shiba, Kuchiki-chan. Just let him off with a warning… for Kaien's sake?"

Rukia grinned. "fine. I'll just take a finger or two…"

"hey, Rukia…" Ichigo got up, and dusted himself off. "dibs on the thumbs."

"I was kidding, monkey."

"so was I… oh, damn it, a nickname worse than Strawberry!"

"you're still my Strawberry," Rukia said as she turned, surprised at how affectionately she had used the name, "I'm just paying you back for insulting Renji. Plus, baka was getting old." she went back to face Kukaku and Ganju, only to find that the latter had disappeared. She sighed. "I really wanted his pinkie as a souvenir… too bad." Kukaku was already walking away, satisfied.

"Rukia, just do me one favor." Ichigo wrapped his arms around her again, and added quietly, "promise me you'll visit."

_X_

A/N: I know it's kind of short, but I don't have much experience with oneshots. Whether you love it or hate it, thanks for reading, again. :)


	3. I Dare You

I Dare You

Summary: Rukia picks up the concept of Truth or Dare, and brings it home to Ichigo.

A/N: I was already working on another oneshot when this popped into my head. It was actually around midnight that I had the idea, so I decided that would be when the story takes place. BTW, last chapter didn't go over so well. I get that, it wasn't really my best work, and i'm not really sure why I didn't just scrap it, so I decided to upload a second time today.

Ichigo happily wrote down the answer to his last equation of homework. "finally," he muttered, and looked at the clock. Midnight. But hey, at least it was Friday.

"ooh, you're done!" Rukia seemed unusually excited about it. In truth, she couldn't really figure out why he had pushed himself so hard to get it done. He had two more days, didn't he?

"yeah, what about you?"

"I finished mine three hours ago."

_Damn it, that's just not fair. _"good for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna pass out."

"hold up, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Ichigo groaned. "okay…"

"well, I was talking to Orihime today, and she explained to me what truth or dare is."

Ichigo chuckled. "yeah? And how'd that work out for you?"

"I don't know, baka, we haven't played yet."

"we?" he prayed she meant herself and Orihime.

"yeah. You, me, whoever chickens out first forks over 2000 yen."

(A/N: not as much money as it sounds.)

"okay, fine." he was much too tired to protest. "but not tonight."

"oh, come on," Rukia groaned. "if you're so tired, drink this." she grabbed her backpack from the closet and pulled out an energy drink, which she promptly tossed to him. "I got it in case you tried to get out of the game."

"you really planned this out."

"yep. Now bottoms up, shut up, man up, and sit down."

"jeez." Ichigo popped the lid of the drink, and sipped it. "you're taking this pretty seriously." he sat down, cross-legged, in front of Rukia. "you know, this is a chick game anyway."

"we're playing anyway," she threw back, and pulled the money out of her pocket, then set it between them. "now you."

Ichigo got up, took some money out of the drawers of his desk, and added it to Rukia's. "four thousand yen. Ladies first, I guess."

"okay, truth or dare?" she gave him a smirk which Ichigo immediately took to mean she had a plan.

Ichigo shrugged. "as long as it's not life-threatening, dare."

"first base."

"what?" Ichigo was genuinely confused. "what do you mean, first base?"

"I mean, I dare you, to first base, with me." she smirked at his look of shock.

"d-do you even know what that is?" _she couldn't… Orihime must have set her up to this._

"first base, also called a French kiss, a soul kiss, or a kiss with tongue. Kiss me, or pay me two thousand yen. Oh, and by the way, it's actually not life-threatening."

_Oh, please tell me this isn't happening… _his voice developed a mind of its own, and he promptly replied, "no problem." _what the hell did I just say?_

Before he knew it, he was kissing her, and his arms were wrapped around her. His heart was racing, his eyes were closed in bliss, and deep down, he was thinking, _this actually feels pretty good. _It was at that point that Rukia moved closer into his embrace, and kissed him back. _Wow…_

They pulled apart, out of breath, and flushed as red as strawberries. "Orihime was right," Rukia panted. "this is great!"

Suddenly, an idea formed in Ichigo's mind, and he realized it was perfect. "okay, my turn. Truth or dare?"

If it was truth, he could ask how much she enjoyed that kiss. If it was dare…

"dare."

"I hoped you'd say that. I dare you to round two."

Without hesitation, Rukia jumped at him, and knocked him down. She was on top of him, pinning him, and to add to that, she bent down and kissed him. After about ten more seconds of passion, Rukia broke off the kiss. "are we gonna do this all night?"

"only if you dare me to."

"okay, one question… what comes after first base?"

"you never asked?"

"I didn't think we'd come to this. Truth or dare?" She rolled off of his chest, and sat normally, save for the expectant look in her eyes, those huge, beautiful pools of deep violet… he decided it was time to tell the…

"truth."

"do you love me?" the words were out before she could stop them.

Ichigo sat up, and gently pulled her close. She didn't resist the action, although at this close, he could see the sweat on her face and arms, and he knew, his body was reacting similarly. He whispered, "yes," and kissed her again. "are we even allowed to be doing this? Won't Soul Society be pissed?"

"no, we're good. When they first found me, they tried to convince me to say I'd fallen in love with you, so apparently that's less of a problem than the stuff we've already done, like me turning you into a Soul Reaper. They even said that would be the only excuse the Soul Society would accept, but I wouldn't do it. I guess I hadn't realized it was true yet."

"but it is true, isn't it?"

Rukia nodded. "truth or dare?"

"dare."

"I dare you to play with me again tomorrow."

"you're on." he kissed her one last time before passing out in her arms, exhausted. The money had been forgotten, and Rukia dumped him onto it as she yawned. He would wake up the following morning on the floor, with four thousand yen in the small of his back, and a dried puddle of energy drink sticking said money to his shirt.

"good night, Strawberry," Rukia whispered, and turned out the light. Given that he wasn't using it, she crawled into his bed, and fell asleep looking at him, listening as he snored quietly.


	4. Birthday

A/N: while wandering aimlessly through Bleach Wiki, I found there are dates for most characters' birthdays. That's most of what inspired this oneshot. BTW, thanks to curio cherry, locasmokow, and "anon" (twice) for your reviews so far.

Birthday

Summary: it's January 13th, the day before Rukia's birthday. Ichigo decides that even if you're a hundred and twenty, it's still worth celebrating.

X

January 13th

It was almost noon, but it was as dark as night. A blizzard was raging through Karakura Town, blotting out the sun and shutting down every school in the area. Ichigo slept silently, and his right arm twitched slightly as he woke. He blinked, looking up at the ceiling. His father was nowhere to be seen, and he hadn't woken his son with a thunderous cry of "GOOD MORNING ICHIGO!"

He glanced at the clock, and saw the time. 11:46 a.m. "what the hell?" he mouthed silently. It made sense that school would be cancelled by the storm out his window, but why hadn't his dad attacked him yet? He stretched, or tried to. His left arm was pinned under something warm. He repeated, out loud this time, "what the hell?"

Rukia groaned under the covers, and poked her head out from under the blankets. "go back to sleep, you loudmouthed idiot."

He whispered, "Rukia, what are you doing in bed with me?"

"cuddling," she replied calmly, and in response to his shocked look, she added, "it's freezing in that damn closet."

"so you just crawled in with me? What if my dad sees us like this? You know what he's like…"

"I locked your door with Kido before I crawled in with you." Ichigo jolted as he realized her arm was wrapped around his chest. "I'm still tired, and to be honest, this is comfy." Ichigo realized he was blushing bright red, and he blushed even more as her grip on his torso tightened, and she sighed. "mm… warm…"

After a few minutes, he heard her breathing slow, and she was almost snoring. Her head was rested on his shoulder, and her raven-black bedhead obscured her face. Gently, he smoothed out her hair with his free hand, so that it framed her face as it did when she was awake. "crazy midget."

"stupid giant." Ichigo pulled his hand away, startled, but Rukia mumbled, "that felt nice. Keep doing it." he hesitated, but then resumed stroking her hair until they both fell asleep again.

A couple hours later, his cell phone rang, waking both him and Rukia. She groggily reached out and grabbed the phone. "hello?"

"Rukia? Isn't this Ichigo's phone?" it was Orihime.

"yeah, he's asleep," she fibbed.

"asleep!? It's two o' clock! Is that why his door is locked?"

"Orihime, where are you?"

"on your front lawn! Take a look outside."

"um… I'll call you back." Rukia hung up, and turned to look at Ichigo. "Orihime is standing outside." she climbed over him to get to the window above his bed, ignoring his mumbling protest. She glared out Ichigo's window, and spotted Orihime, Uryu, and Chad all standing in the snow. The blizzard had stopped, and Chad was building a rather large snowman. He stopped long enough to wave, along with Orihime. Uryu merely pushed up his glasses, reflecting the light of a revealed sun. "they're all here," she groaned.

"we gotta at least say hi," Ichigo managed to say, then added angrily, "now get off my chest!"

Rukia had been kneeling on him, so she backed up and stood. She smoothed out the front of her pajamas, and replied calmly, "you're right… but how do we get rid of them?"

"we don't. They obviously want to hang out, and they're already here." Ichigo waved out the window, and noted that although Orihime and Chad waved, Uryu simply raised his eyebrows in surprise.

A few minutes later, Ichigo and Rukia greeted them at the door in their pajamas. Uryu was the first to speak. "Rukia did say you were sleeping. She neglected to mention she was in bed with you. If you had've explained that, we could've waited for you to… finish up, or whatever…"

"we were just sleeping, you perverted bastard." Ichigo seriously considered punching Uryu, but decided against it. "so what are you guys doing?"

"ambushing you," Uryu stated calmly, and stooped to pick up an already-made snowball from the ground. Orihime and Chad followed suit, and Ichigo quickly slammed the door shut, saving himself from at least one snowball to the face.

"so… are we going to smash these idiots, or not?" Rukia asked with an evil grin.

"yeah, sure." Ichigo activated the "Substitute Soul Reaper" badge that hung around his neck, immediately freeing himself from his body. Rukia leapt free of her gigai, and both bodies crumpled to the ground. She threw open the door, and dodged a snowball that struck Ichigo between the eyes, then charged out into the yard with a battle-cry. Ichigo briefly considered how odd his friends would look, targeting two invisible enemies with a barrage of snowballs, but decided they would look even odder if they lost that battle. He used a Flash Step to move behind Ishida, gathering a snowball as he went. Uryu whirled, and Ichigo shoved the snowball in his foe's face. Chad fired a significantly larger snowball, but Ichigo drew Zangetsu and blocked it. He grinned, and crouched to ready another return-fire.

"dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Orihime yelped, and hid behind Chad's oversized snowman. Rukia's grin broadened, and she lazily swung her sword. The snowman collapsed, burying Orihime up to her neck, while Ichigo ducked another snowball from Chad. He hung Zangetsu on his back, and kicked the snow in front of himself. His enhanced strength kicked up a wave of snow that came down directly above Chad.

The giant coughed, and wiped the snow off his shoulders, then looked down. He was buried up to his waist. "I think you guys won."

X

Later, the five sat in the relative warmth of Ichigo's house, drinking hot chocolate. Orihime in particular was guzzling hers. "you two overdid it a little…" she mumbled hesitantly.

Ichigo, once again in his body, nodded. "maybe a little." Rukia smirked as she sipped her drink, but remained silent. "I don't want to sound like an ass, but did you guys come here just to ambush us?"

"no, we wanted to hang out together on a snow day." Chad took another deep swig of hot chocolate.

Uryu added, "turns out the Hollows are taking a day off too. The cold must be discouraging them."

Orihime grinned as she finished her drink. "wouldn't it be great is school was cancelled tomorrow too? Then Rukia could have her birthday off!"

Ichigo coughed into his drink. "your birthday is tomorrow?"

Rukia shrugged. "I don't understand the fascination humans have with birthdays. I've celebrated my own a few times with my brother, but frankly, it doesn't seem to be such an important day."

"we gotta put a party together, or something!" Ichigo's determination was backed up by Orihime, while Uryu remained silent, and Chad nodded slightly.

Rukia sighed. "I never mentioned it because I knew you'd attempt exactly this behaviour."

"oh, come on, Rukia!" Orihime grinned, and asked, "what do you like other than slaying Hollows and hitting Ichigo?"

Rukia was caught off-guard by the question, but even more so by the fact that Ichigo immediately answered, "she loves Chappy the Rabbit."

"okay, we can work with that… anything else?"

"both of you stop!" Rukia jammed her finger in Ichigo's face. "and when did you go soft on me?"

"I didn't go soft!" Ichigo angrily protested, and pressed forward. "I'm just answering a question!"

"you're selling me out!" Rukia retracted her hand, balled it into a fist, and leaned forward in an effort to intimidate Ichigo.

"I'm planning you a birthday party!"

"I don't want a birthday party!"

"uh, you two are rather close…"

Ichigo and Rukia simultaneously turned to face Uryu, and both bellowed, "SHUT UP, URYU!"

The Quincy leaned backward a bit, and pushed up his glasses yet again.

X

Three hours later, Ichigo strolled through a mall on the northern edge of Karakura Town, where the blizzard hadn't been much more than a few flurries.

_What do you like other than slaying Hollows and hitting Ichigo?_

"Chappy… no, not just Chappy. Rabbits…" Ichigo stopped walking, and turned to his left. What met his eye was a well-stocked pet store. He muttered to himself, "this is a really bad idea…"

He walked in anyway. Kittens… birds… fish, reptiles, hamsters… "rabbits," he said aloud, and grinned as he saw exactly what he was looking for. It was a tiny snow-white rabbit that was currently licking its own right shoulder. It turned and stared at him with piercing purple eyes. "oh, come on. What are the odds?" he murmured as he stuck a finger into the cage. The rabbit sniffed, licked, then nibbled gently at his fingernail. An employee walked by, and he asked the young man, "how much for this rabbit?"

"she's 1100 yen. We haven't named her yet."

(A/N: 1100 yen is roughly fifteen bucks, which is what my sister paid for her rabbit.)

Ichigo grinned. "I'll take it."

On his way out to his car, Ichigo turned to his left a second time, and saw a very different shop. "no way…" He looked down at the box in his arms, within which a violet-eyed rabbit was currently napping. For a rabbit, it was surprisingly laid-back. "can't hurt to take a look."

X

Rukia's Birthday: January 14th

She woke in Ichigo's bed again, the blankets still warm from their combined body heat, but Ichigo was gone. She crawled out of bed, already guessing what awaited her downstairs. She opened the door, noting that her Kido spell had already been broken, probably by Ichigo. There was absolute silence as she headed down the hallway. The bathroom door was open, and Karin and Yuzu were both asleep. As she walked down the stairs, she expected someone or everyone to scream "surprise!" but apparently, the partygoers had better sense than that.

"Ichigo? I told you I didn't want a party… and why the hell are you dressed up like Don Kanonji?"

Ichigo looked up at the magician's hat he was wearing. "yeah, it's kind of cheesy, but hey, it's a magic show. I might as well look the part. So, let's start with the small stuff…" he pulled a deck of black playing cards out of his pocket. "who wants to pick a card?"

Rukia shrugged. "I'll do it, I guess." Ichigo fanned out the deck, and Rukia plucked the two of hearts out of the middle. She put it back into the deck at Ichigo's request, and he pulled out the ace of spades. "that's not it," she said, already bored.

"I know," Ichigo said proudly, and the card burst into flame. He set the remainder of the deck on the table, and asked, "what was your card?"

"two of hearts," Rukia replied.

"yeah?" he spread out the deck, and began to flip over each card individually. "let's see if we can find it."

Rukia watched with growing interest as every single card turned out to be something else. He came to the last one, and turned it over, revealing a second ace of spades. "okay, that was cool."

"hold on, we still haven't found that two of hearts," Ichigo replied, grinning. "oh, look, it's over there!" Rukia whirled excitedly, revealing how enthralled she truly was. The two of hearts was in Chad's held-up hand. "so, are we off to a good start?"

"yeah, that was pretty slick," she admitted. "what's next? You gonna saw me in half?"

"not yet," he said with an even broader grin. "first, some flowers for the pretty lady." he flicked his wrist, and three red roses appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke. He handed them to Rukia, and she sniffed them.

"so you think I'm pretty?" she asked, now returning Ichigo's grin.

"I'll answer all questions after the show. Now it's time for the main event."

Chad set down the two of hearts. "it's a classic," he said with a smile.

Ichigo took off his hat, and set it on the table. "I don't need a wand or any magic word to pull this off…" he gently laid his hand on the top of the hat, and stroked it in a circle with his finger. "poof," he said quietly, and suddenly pulled his hand upward. The top of the hat was consumed with smoke, and it shook slightly. Ichigo then picked it up, revealing the purple-eyed rabbit.

Rukia squealed, a sound which struck Ichigo as bizarre, coming from Rukia. "it's adorable!" she picked up the rabbit, and cradled it against her chest. The rabbit didn't look even slightly fazed, in fact, it twitched its nose and closed its eyes contently. "oh, thank you, Strawberry!" she set the rabbit back on the table, and hugged Ichigo as the rabbit watched. Uryu was the only one who noticed the animal's look of disappointment.

"happy birthday, Rukia," Ichigo replied, and hugged her back.

X

At one o' clock, the snow started falling again, and it came down in a torrent of white to match yesterday's blizzard. The rabbit snoozed comfortably in Rukia's lap, as she gently scratched behind its ears.

"thank you guys so much," Rukia said as she played with her pet's ears.

"the whole thing was Ichigo's idea," Orihime said cheerfully. "hey, where is Ichigo, anyway?"

Everyone looked around, except Chad who explained, "he went upstairs a minute ago."

"well, what's he doing up there? Aren't we still here?"

Rukia quietly got up, and set the rabbit on the floor. "guys, make sure she doesn't chew on anything." They nodded in sync, and Chad got up to pet the rabbit while Rukia made her way upstairs. She beelined for Ichigo's room, and opened the door, revealing him lounging on the bed, reading one of her manga. She gave a quick sigh of relief, which Ichigo found unusual, then asked, "what are you doing up here, baka?"

"I'm just taking a minute. Go on, enjoy your party, I'll come back down soon… by the way, this one isn't that bad." he held up the manga, then resumed reading it.

Rukia glanced briefly at the closet, then nodded. "alright, but stay out of my stuff." she left, and Ichigo watched her go. He grinned to himself, and shut the manga. She had failed to remember that she had kept this particular book in the closet he had just investigated. _It's freezing in that damn closet._

"sure it is…" he gave a quick chuckle, and opened the closet to put her manga back. The closet was warmer than the rest of the room.

Still grinning, he made his way downstairs, ready to show off a few more card tricks.

X

The snow-laced wind whistled as it blew past Ichigo's window, at almost midnight. He pulled his arms from behind his head, and pretended to snore softly. He knew she wouldn't come immediately, she'd wait until he'd been asleep a few minutes, so he continued to snore.

Rukia, meanwhile, lay awake in the closet. Downstairs, she could hear the scratching of the rabbit's claws as it wandered around on the floor. With no other pets to protect it from, there was no need to keep it in a cage. His snoring reached her ears, and she smiled. Slowly and silently, she slid the closet door open, and crept across the room. When he was asleep or nearly so, he didn't seem to mind snaking his arms around her. Carefully, she lifted the blankets, and crawled in next to him. As with the previous two nights, he embraced her, mumbling something in his sleep. She sighed as she lay next to him, using his chest as a pillow again.

"Rukia." she tensed in his arms, hoping he was merely talking in his sleep. He whispered to her, "what's your excuse gonna be in the summer?"

She sighed. "how long have you known?"

"since this morning. You know, you didn't have to lie to me." she expected him to remove his embrace, but instead, he pulled her closer. "good night, midget."

"good night, Strawberry."

_-END-_

Originally, I had planned to end the oneshot after the "magic show," but it seemed incomplete, so I kept writing. The result was my longest oneshot yet, and probably the one I had the most fun writing.


	5. Saltwater

Saltwater

Summary: Hints at IshiHime. Based on the Season 1 anime opener, where Rukia is seen teetering on logs or something. I never really paid close attention, but since it's FF, I can modify the scene anyway, right? Be warned, Rukia is OOC, but it's on purpose.

X

"so what do you call this stuff, anyway?" Rukia unwrapped another piece of candy, this one a pale green.

"saltwater taffy. Good, huh?"

Rukia simply chewed the candy with a grin. Saltwater? How could this pure deliciousness be made with saltwater? She swallowed, and shook the bag slightly, listening to the candies in it rustle. Satisfied with her healthy supply, she took out another, and paused. "aren't we supposed to be looking for a Hollow?"

"yeah, but he's gone. He won't come back here with two Soul Reapers guarding the place, so as long as we're here, we're being helpful."

Rukia nodded. "where the hell did the other three go?"

Uryu, Orihime, and Chad were all missing, somewhere on the boardwalk which was lined with gift shops, selling candy and trinkets like the pouch of taffy Ichigo had bought Rukia. "I bet you another bag of taffy, that Uryu's buying something for Orihime."

"so? You bought me candy."

"yeah, but he'll do it 'cause he likes her."

"is that why you bought me this?" Rukia held up the pouch, and giggled at Ichigo's blushing. "you're bright red, Strawberry."

"did you just giggle? Rukia Kuchiki doesn't giggle… what's gotten into you, other than taffy?"

"hey, wait a second. If Uryu and Orihime are gone somewhere together, what happened to Chad?"

Ichigo shrugged. "he's not the kind of guy to get lost easily. He'll turn up. Uh, Rukia? What are you doing?"

Rukia grinned, and stepped up onto the railing of the boardwalk. Extended out over the water was a line of short poles, almost stumps at only a foot above the water, during the current high tide. They were probably intended to keep boats away from the shallow water at the beach, not that it really mattered. "I'm showing off. A little trick I picked up in Soul Society…" she jumped across the water to a pole, balancing easily on the flat top. Her violet eyes were opened wide to catch any detail, anything to warn her the next stump was unsafe. Ichigo watched in numbed shock as she hopped to the next, laughing by now.

"Rukia, are you nuts? What the hell are you doing…" he gasped as she teetered dangerously to one side, and now began to seriously assume it wasn't actually Rukia, since the trained Soul Reaper he knew had way better balance than that. Then she easily righted herself, hopped in place, and bent down to the other side. A brief thought of a bird, perhaps a raven, cut through Ichigo's disbelief for a moment. "psycho midget. Can you even swim in your gigai?"

Rukia turned, grinning, and clicked her shoe on the top of the pole. She jumped backward, and Ichigo darted forward in panic, expecting her to splash into the water. She landed on the next pole, safe and sound, as she unwrapped another taffy. "come on. Pull the stick out of your ass, Ichigo!"

"hey! That should be my line!"

Rukia laughed, and bit the candy. "you want it back? Get out here, come take it!"

Ichigo looked down at the pole beneath Rukia's feet. "ah, how hard can it be?" he leapt to the first stump, landing shakily on the green-stained old wood. "pretty hard," he muttered.

Rukia laughed again, holding back a "that's what she said." on one of her brief encounters with Keigo, she had picked up the concept, and as much as she was annoyed with herself for it, the line was startlingly easy to apply. This whole stunt was designed to freak out Ichigo, and it was obviously working, but Keigo's one-liner was a bit too much. "hurry up, Strawberry!"

"I hate that name," he muttered, and realized that "midget" surely wasn't pleasant for Rukia. He resolved to stop calling her one if he didn't trip and land facefirst on a stump. He jumped again, and looked up at Rukia, who was doing some kind of dance. She jumped backward again, and yelped in shock as the stump cracked under her feet. She wobbled, and looked down at her tiny, crumbling platform of safety. Falling into this water would be far from fun, although her gigai was waterproof, at least. She looked up, and gasped again. Ichigo was standing on the pole in front of her, and it startled her enough that she tried to take a step back, forgetting where she was. She immediately began to fall, but Ichigo caught her by the wrist, as her toes were dipped in the freezing cold water. Wordlessly, he steadied her, although he looked ready to explode.

"um… sorry…"

"sorry? What the hell, Rukia? Since when do you say 'sorry?'" Ichigo paused, and calmed down. "is that even you, Rukia, or is Kon doing a crazy-ass impression of you?"

"it's me," Rukia said quietly, not knowing what else to say. Ichigo was confused, but he seemed more concerned than anything, and she hadn't anticipated that. "want me to prove it?"

Ichigo had been awaiting some kind of sarcasm, and he thought this was it, so he responded, "yeah. Bring it on."

Rukia stepped forward onto the same stump as him, and wrapped her arms around his neck for stability as she leaned in and kissed him.

Hiding behind a bush, Uryu, Orihime, and Chad watched with glee. "that went even better than I expected," Orihime said cheerfully, and popped a saltwater taffy into her mouth.

"honestly, I had my doubts, but that actually worked. Five minutes alone with a bag of candy, and they're all over each other." Uryu pushed up his glasses, concealing his eyes behind the brightly reflected sunlight. "it raises the question, have they done this before?"

Chad grunted, and stood up. "poor Ichigo. That pole's gonna break in about three seconds."

Out of the corner of her eye, Rukia saw Chad's massive frame standing behind a bush on the shore, just before the stump shattered, prematurely ending her's and Ichigo's first kiss. She gasped and spluttered in the hellishly frigid water, and immediately began trying to crawl up the next pole, with Ichigo shortly following. She glared at Chad, who simply waved. As if on cue, Uryu and Orihime stood up, and Rukia realized it was some kind of plot by the three. Somehow, it had worked.

"nice one, guys." Uryu and Rukia unknowingly echoed each other, as Ichigo shook the saltwater from his neon-orange hair.

"well, uh… I'm pretty sure Kon would never do that…" Ichigo sat uncomfortably on the stump Rukia cracked before kissing him.

"would you?" Rukia asked, grinning at him with a faint blush.

"I wouldn't have worked up the guts." he ran a hand through his hair, feeling it immediately spike back up, even when wet.

"oh, so the big bad Soul Reaper is afraid of a little action…"

"hey, you attack me for making fun of your drawings. I didn't even want to think of what you'd do to me if I put the moves on you."

"when we're back on dry land, you'll have to show me these 'moves,'" she teased.

Challenge Accepted.

_X_

_A/N: yeah, yeah, OOC, right? Well, watch Rukia showing off just like that in the season 1 opener, minus making out with Ichigo, and tell me that wasn't OOC too. Granted, it isn't exactly canon, but hey, it happened._


	6. Fujihime

Fujihime

Summary: "your eyes change color… Whenever you're happy, they're purple, like now."

A/N: it's been a while, and I hope this chapter goes over well. The title roughly translates to "Purple Princess." I wrote this whole thing in one night, but I have one, maybe two more oneshots to write before NEM goes back on hiatus.

X

Ichigo was asleep.

By itself, it wasn't such an unusual thing, but tonight, he was napping on the floor.

Or at least, trying to.

Rukia hummed a few high notes to herself, stifling a giggle as Ichigo winced. She had talked him into sleeping on the floor while she lay comfortably on his bed, belly-down with her face hovering over a piece of paper where she was likely drawing more Chappy-esque chibi animals.

Ichigo opened his eyes miserably, averting his gaze from the light directly above him. He watched Rukia drawing with a content smile, and now that he had resigned himself to consciousness, her humming became rather pleasant.

Out of nowhere, Kon appeared on Ichigo's face and began punching him harmlessly with his stuffed paws. "quit ogling her, dammit! Have you no shame? If I had a body I'd kick your ass!…"

Rukia blinked, sighed, and sat up, then reached down, nonchalantly plucked Kon off of Ichigo, and threw him out into the hallway, where he would be forced to remain immobile for Karin and Yuzu's benefit. She hummed again, grinning.

"uh, thanks?" Ichigo tried to sit up.

"don't move!" she cried out urgently.

"wha? I…" Ichigo unwittingly sat up further, prompting Rukia to turn and glare at him.

"lay down and stay still, baka!"

It dawned on him that Rukia had been drawing him in his sleep. He laid back down, sighing, and watched Rukia's steel-blue stare soften into a warm purple. He blinked. _I knew I wasn't imagining it!_

"good, now stay like that for a minute or two…" she turned back to the page and began humming again.

"should I go back to sleep or something?"

"no, eyes open. I was waiting for you to wake up so I could do your eyes."

"you know, your eyes change color."

Rukia turned and looked at him. Her eyes were still a vibrant purple, and wide open. "what do you mean they change color?"

"when you're pissed off, they're sort of bluish, and when you're fighting a hollow or whatever, they're grey. Whenever you're happy, they're purple, like now."

Rukia was silent for a moment. "huh… even in my gigai?"

"when you're in a gigai, they're usually purple, but they turned blue tonight when you flipped at me."

"wow." she stopped, looked away for a moment, and giggled. "you're giving my eyes an awful lot of attention, then…"

"yeah, I guess so."

Rukia resumed drawing. "so, tell me more. Do you always just stare at my eyes?"

"well, they're the only part of you that changes color. Not that I've seen every part of you, or anything! And it's not like I've been looking for you to change color…"

"Kon already screamed out you were ogling me a minute ago." she giggled again.

"yeah, but he's Kon!"

"you know, your cheeks change color. Most of the time, they're normal, but sometimes they go bright red." Rukia laughed, then scribbled a bit more on the page. She blinked, drew one last curved line, and called out triumphantly, "done!" Ichigo immediately sat up, but Rukia dove protectively over the paper. "no!" she whined defensively.

"what the hell?" he stood, and stepped away. He said in a soothing voice, "it's alright, you don't have to show me." He yawned, stretched, and sat at his desk. "ugh, what time is it?"

"only nine."

"thanks," Ichigo replied groggily, and blinked a few times. "okay, my turn. Just… stay like that."

Rukia blinked in surprise and craned her neck around to look at herself. She was stretched out on his bed, wearing her Karakura High uniform. The skirt covered her legs to the knee, at which point they were bared, and comfortably pointed into the air. Her bare feet were crossed above her knees, and her toes were slightly chilly, but she hadn't noticed, being so focused on her drawing. "why like this?"

"you look comfortable like that."

She noticed how Ichigo had hesitated. "comfortable?"

Ichigo blinked, blushed, and corrected himself. "beautiful," he said quietly, and repeated himself louder. "you look beautiful."

Rukia blushed and looked down. "um…"

"could you… look at me? I really wanna get your eyes in this." as Rukia hesitantly obliged, they both flushed a deeper red, realizing that they were both blushing. Ichigo smiled slightly, and turned back to the page. "beautiful…"

_You gutless sappy piece of crap excuse for a King! You wanna do something, just do it!_

"gah!" Ichigo fell out of his chair in shock, and responded angrily and out loud, "Hichigo, you son of a bitch! Don't make me come in there!"

"who the hell's Hichigo? Are you all right?"

"yeah… Hichigo's my inner hollow, he pretty much just screamed in my ear."

_You call that screaming? I'm barely even getting warmed up! If I scream loud enough, maybe I can split your head open and just jump right out! _

"don't you even try it, bastard!"

"Ichigo, what's he saying?"

_Oh, you gonna tell her? Go on, tell the Queen you're too chicken to make a move, and tell her I'm coming to solve that problem. She'd pass you up for me anyday. _Hichigo laughed, which gave a booming echo in Ichigo's pounding head.

"he's talking about you," he admitted, "and about screaming so loud he splits my head apart and jumps out."

"ooh," Rukia said with an exaggerated shudder. "he really is crazy."

"he's the opposite of me in pretty much every way. I want to protect, he wants to kill… I don't even want to think what he'd do to you…"

_Ha! That's probably the one thing you and I would ever agree on, is what to do with the Queen! I'd just do it better than you. _Hichigo cackled.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and said nothing in response. "he's done now," he announced firmly, "because he knows I'll destroy him if he doesn't shut up." at Hichigo's silence, Ichigo hauled himself up and into the chair.

"um, Ichigo… you wanna see the drawing now?"

Something hit him like a wall, a sense that something enormously important was about to happen. "…yeah," he said, trying to shake it off.

"okay, just let me… erase this bit…" she rubbed the little pink eraser over a small mark on the page, then handed it to Ichigo.

It was expertly drawn, to the point of photorealism. Ichigo was there in black and white on the page, laying on the floor with his arms behind his head. His eyes were open, reflecting the light on the ceiling, and he was smirking. Kon was in the background, sitting down and skulking by the wall, drawn as a chibi.

However, what drew Ichigo's attention were the eraser shavings over the faded, almost-erased heart, which had been drawn on the floor by Ichigo's head. He blushed again. "it's… great!" he exclaimed.

Rukia beamed, then added slyly, "I bet you thought I could only draw bunny chibis."

"kind of."

_What the hell are you doing, King?_

Ichigo blinked. _What… am I doing?_

_You and me are Espada-killing badasses. So's the Queen, too, if you think about it. Yet you're out there, blushing and trying to ignore all the signs. I can't believe I'm giving you a pep-talk here, but I call her Queen for a reason. Think about it!_

_You know what… maybe you're right. I faced down Byakuya, and Ulquiorra, and Aizen, but I'm afraid of this?_

"Ichigo? Come on, you idiot, snap out of it!" she was snapping her fingers in his face, and when that didn't work, she gripped him by the arms and shook him.

Ichigo blinked several times, and when he realized his position, wrapped his arms around Rukia's shoulders. She gasped in shock, and reflexively tried to pull away. She fell backwards, pulling Ichigo with her onto the bed. Both their blushes darkened as they realized where they were, and how close together. "what are we… doing?"

He leaned downward, and whispered in her ear, "I saw the heart."

Rukia breathed in sharply. "Ichigo… what are you going to do?"

"for now, just this." he pulled back, just enough to see her face again, and then lunged downward again.

He had never kissed a girl, so he wasn't exactly experienced in kissing, but then, neither was Rukia. She had shared one kiss with Renji, close to fifty years ago, but nothing afterward. Both of them admitted to each other that the relationship had felt awkward and forced, and they quickly returned to friendship.

This kiss was completely different. This was almost two years of building tension, released at once, and one of the few coherent thoughts running through their minds was _finally!_

She released a quiet moan into his mouth, then pushed him away to gasp for air. "Ichigo…"

"I know, we can't rush it," he panted.

"no harm in kissing," she replied breathlessly, and yanked him downward again. "just… promise me… we don't go crazy… tonight…"

"not tonight," he confirmed in a whisper, and kissed her again.

"hey, Ichigo, you wouldn't happen to know how…" Isshin Kurosaki froze with his eyes bugging out of his head. Kon dangled limply from his right hand. "I'm so proud of you, my son!" he threw his arms into the air, flinging Kon into the ceiling. "I…"

The senior Kurosaki never managed to finish, instead he had Ichigo's fist rammed down his throat so hard that he was fired back down the hallway and tumbled violently down the stairs. "a thousand yen says that bastard was spying!"

_I'm so proud of you, King! You just punched your own dad so hard he'll be shitting his front teeth tonight! And first base with the Queen ain't bad, either._

"jeez, Ichigo… you think he'll be alright? You hit him pretty hard."

"now that you mention it, that could be my new record." Ichigo scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm gonna go see if he's okay, but… what the hell do we do now?"

"well, the next step is to avoid a battle to the death between you and my brother." Ichigo blanched, and she added, "but I guess that'll only happen if he really hates you."

"o…kay… I gotta go make sure my dad's head is still attached…" Ichigo headed toward the hall.

"I'm alright, Ichigo!" Isshin bellowed. "enjoy your alone time with your girlfriend, but if you break that bed, you're paying to replace it! Oh, and don't wake your sisters either!"

"what the hell is wrong with you? I send you across the house with my fist, and you wanna continue this crap?"

Rukia groaned. "this is gonna be a long night, for all the wrong reasons."


End file.
